Yet these troops were vastly inferior to the Five Encampments of the Northern Army and the Sanhe cavalry.
Deng Sheng did not voice this aloud, but everyone present understood it in their hearts.
Liu Yan spoke up at the right moment. "The Eight Passes are precipitous, and Luoyang's walls are towering and thick—easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the soldiers are not top-tier elites, defending the city will not be a problem."
In truth, Luoyang was not easy to defend. Long ago, when the Western Han was choosing its capital, Zhang Liang had said:
*"Though Luoyang possesses such natural strongholds, the basin within is small, spanning merely a few hundred li. Its soil is barren, and it is exposed to enemies on all four sides. This is no land from which to wage war..."*
Luoyang's defensive strength lay not in the city itself, but in strategic linchpins such as Hulao, Huanyuan, Hangu, Longmen, and Mengjin. Hold them, and Luoyang was as secure as Mount Tai; lose them, and Luoyang was as precarious as a stack of eggs.
In other words, if the Yellow Turbans of Ji Province seized Mengjin and the other passes, Luoyang's doom was all but assured.
However, there was no need to tell Liu Hong any of this, lest it spark terror and send his thoughts spiraling.
Sure enough, hearing Liu Yan's words put Liu Hong far more at ease. He instructed Deng Sheng, He Jin, Zhang Wen, and the others to continue discussing the deployment of provincial troops into Luoyang, then summoned Liu Yan into a side hall.
"May I ask why Your Majesty has summoned me?"
Liu Yan was thoroughly baffled. As Minister of the Imperial Clan, he was not responsible for deploying troops or dispatching generals, nor did he command any soldiers of his own. Why would the Emperor summon him for a private audience?
Liu Hong lowered his voice and asked, "Clan Uncle, as the dynasty's Minister of the Imperial Clan, do you know anything regarding the legends surrounding Grand Progenitor Emperor Gao?"
Liu Yan was taken aback. "Grand Progenitor Emperor Gao?"
"The legends claim Emperor Gao was the reincarnation of the Son of the Red Emperor, was he not?" Liu Hong asked anxiously. "Now that the false god Zhonghuang Taiyi has descended upon the world, could Emperor Gao descend once more? Or perhaps dispatch an immortal or god down to the mortal realm to save our Flaming Han?"
Liu Yan was dumbfounded. "Your Majesty, this... this... The claim of being the reincarnation of the Son of the Red Emperor was surely concocted under the guise of gods and ghosts; it is not the truth."
What Son of the Red Emperor? What slaying of the white serpent? It was all merely meant to shroud Liu Bang in an aura of divine mystery, making it easier to sway and govern the empire's subjects.
Anyone who had read even a few books would never believe such nonsense. How could the Emperor himself be asking him about it?
Liu Yan was completely at a loss for words, utterly unable to describe the absurdity welling up within him.
Liu Hong frowned, pressing further, "Then what of Emperor Shizu? Rumors say he summoned a falling star to crush the enemy army. Was he not an immortal or god reincarnated?"
Liu Yan kept his face stiff. "Your Majesty, do not indulge in delusions. There have never been gods, immortals, or spirits in this world."
Liu Hong's eyes widened. "Then what do you make of the Yellow Sky God shielding the moth-rebels? Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo fled back to Luoyang for their lives, claiming that the false god Zhonghuang Taiyi scattered beans to create soldiers, summoning fifteen earthen giants that rampaged through our battle lines and shattered our army! Otherwise, the outcome would still be undecided!"
Liu Yan fell silent.
Indeed, if there were no gods or immortals in this world, what was with the Yellow Sky God?
Liu Yan had seen the lingering dread and terror on Cao Cao's and Dong Zhuo's faces with his own eyes. An expression like that could not be faked.
And if the Yellow Sky God was real, then perhaps Grand Progenitor Emperor Gao and Emperor Shizu really had been deities reincarnate.
Doubts instantly sprouted in Liu Yan's mind. *Could Emperor Gao and Shizu truly have been gods?*
Liu Hong looked at him with eager anticipation. After weighing his thoughts again and again, Liu Yan ultimately shook his head. "This minister truly does not know whether our imperial ancestors were deities. Since Your Majesty asks, I dare not speak recklessly."
Liu Hong sighed. "Forget it. If Clan Uncle does not know, then so be it. I shall personally go to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and pray for their protection."
Liu Yan nodded. "That is only proper."
Even if Emperor Gao and Emperor Shizu were not divine, it was entirely fitting for the Son of Heaven to offer sacrifices and prayers when the dynasty faced a grave crisis.
Once Liu Yan took his leave, Liu Hong waved a hand. Outside the hall, a pale, beardless eunuch walked in with a fawning smile.
"Father, is that item finished?"
For Liu Hong to address a eunuch as "Father" was staggering to hear, but knowing that this man was Zhang Rang made it no surprise.
*"Regular Attendant Zhang is my father, and Regular Attendant Zhao is my mother,"* was a remark Liu Hong often made to his favored courtiers.
Zhang Rang glanced furtively to the left and right. Like a thief, he drew a small wooden figurine carved from tung wood from his sleeve. Inscribed upon it were the four large characters *"Zhonghuang Taiyi,"* along with the legendary date of the Yellow Sky God's first descent into the mortal world used as his eight birth characters. Sharp silver needles were driven into every part of the doll's body.
If the court ministers outside were to lay eyes on this wooden doll, their faces would surely pale in an instant—for this thing was all too familiar, and all too notorious.
*Wugu* witchcraft and curse sorcery!
The sinister art that had brought immense agony to the Han dynasty.
During the Yuanguang era of Emperor Wu of Han, Empress Chen Ajiao fell out of favor and crafted small figurines to curse Wei Zifu. Upon discovering this, Emperor Wu deposed her, and "over three hundred people, including the sorceress Chu Fu and palace attendants, were implicated and executed."
Yet that was a minor affair by comparison, touching relatively few. What truly struck terror into courtiers and commoners alike was the Witchcraft Calamity in the eleventh month of the first year of Zhenghe.
That catastrophe dragged on for years. Among those implicated and put to death were the Crown Prince, the Empress, two Chancellors—Gongsun He and Liu Qumao—along with Princess Zhuyi, Princess Yangshi, and three imperial grandsons. It ensnared countless high ministers and prominent figures, claiming tens of thousands of lives!
Ever since that calamity, subjects trembled at the mere mention of *wugu* and curse magic. Yet here and now, in the very heart of the empire, within the Luoyang imperial palace, a tung-wood puppet had appeared once again.
Zhang Rang cautiously handed the wooden doll to Liu Hong. "Your Majesty, it is complete. However, for curse sorcery to work, the object must be buried at or placed near the target's dwelling to ensnare their soul. That false god is far away in Ji Province—how can we curse him?"
Liu Hong felt troubled as well. Pacing back and forth across the hall with the puppet in hand, an idea suddenly struck him. "I happen to be going to the ancestral temple to sacrifice to the ancestors. I shall take it along and implore Emperor Gao to use this item to curse the false god to death from afar!"
Zhang Rang was frightened out of his wits by the Emperor's sudden notion. He blurted out, "The ancestral temple is sacred ground! How can an unclean object be brought inside?"
Bringing a witchcraft puppet to sacrifice to the imperial ancestors was truly too "filial." If discovered, Liu Hong might not suffer much, but as the Son of Heaven's "Father," he would undoubtedly be put to death!
Not even the Emperor could shield him!
Liu Hong waved his hand dismissively. "Come now, do not panic. I will act discreetly and ensure no one discovers it."
Zhang Rang wanted to dissuade him further, but a stern glare from Liu Hong cut him short.
Shortly thereafter, Liu Hong set out for the Gaomiao Temple with a modest retinue, carrying the wooden figurine with him. Gaomiao lay to the southeast of the imperial palace, not far off, and he arrived before long.
Liu Hong passed through Gaomiao's main gates and central courtyard, then waved his hand to dismiss the eunuchs trailing behind him. Alone, he approached the jade ancestral spirit tablet of Grand Progenitor Emperor Gao and knelt.
Drawing the wooden figurine from his robes, he placed it before him and whispered, "Your unworthy descendant, Hong, implores the Grand Progenitor to manifest his divine power! Dispatch great magic from the celestial realm to curse and slay the false god Zhonghuang Taiyi across the distance, and restore peace to our Great Han!!"
With that, he bowed three times with utmost solemnity and devout reverence.
Far away inside the Guangzong county government office, Huang Tian watched the scene with a peculiar expression, unable to keep from bursting into hearty laughter. His clear, bright laughter rang out, prompting the servant girls standing guard outside the door to wonder in curiosity.
*Could the Holy Sovereign's spirit have wandered beyond the heavens and seen some comical person or event?*
Chapter 27